Champions League
Christian Pulisic injury update after USMNT fitness ‘problem’
The AC Milan forward was benched for his side’s draw with Juventus on the weekend, putting his place in the Champions League team in doubt.
Christian Pulisic has made an electric start to the 2024/25 season with AC Milan, providing seven goals and five assists in 16 games for the Rossoneri. He continued that good form with a brace for USMNT during the November international break but picked up a fitness issue that kept him sidelined for Milan last weekend.
The 26-year-old started on the bench as Milan hosted rivals Juventus on Saturday, playing just 20 minutes as a second half substitute. Asked why Pulisic was left out of the starting XI, head coach Paulo Fonseca revealed that he had suffered a ‘problem’ on international duty.
“He came from the national team with a problem, yesterday and today we tried but he wasn’t well. I couldn’t let him play more. I took the risk. It didn’t seem like the right time to change players on the fly, we made some substitutions that didn’t have an impact.”
Will Christian Pulisic play for AC Milan against Slovan Bratislava?
Having played two games for USMNT a week earlier Pulisic was given extra time to recover. Italian media reported that Pulisic had sat out certain AC Milan sessions after returning from the national team.
His absence from the starting XI against Juventus will have been a concern for AC Milan fans but he looks to be back in contention to start for the Champions League trip to Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.
Milan will be eager to have Pulisic back but Bratislava head coach Vladimir Weiss has other ideas, admitting that the American is the player that he is most concerned about ahead of Tuesday’s clash.
“If I could choose, I’d take out Pulisic," Weiss revealed. “They will play to win. I expect an offensive lineup with all their best players because they must win tomorrow to advance.”
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